Welt and thread cutting means for sewing-machines.



No. 877,858. PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

T. G/PLANT.

WELT ANDTHREAD CUTTING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.27.1906.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

M566 5. 2 I V I'm-aerator rm: mmms PETERS co, wnsmucrozv, nc,

PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

3 SHEETS-$HTBET 2.

T. G. PLANT. WELT AND THRBAD'GUTTING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.27, 1906.

THE nwnRrs PETERS co, wasunycrou, 11 04 No. 877,858. PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

' T. G. PLANT.

WELT AND THREAD CUTTING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27. 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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M0 Fulfill!!! M 5 llilllfl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS G. PLANT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MANUFACTURERS MACHINE COMPANY, OF MONTOLAIR, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WELT AND THREAD CUTTING MEANS FOR SEWING-MACHINES Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ian 28', 1 908;

Application filed September 27. 1906. Serial N0: 336.465-

To all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that l, THOMAS G. PLANr, a citizen of the Uni-ted States, residing at Bos ton, in the county of Suffolk and State of the drawings representing like parts.

This invention in sewing machines relates more particularly to curved needle, wax thread machines for producing chain stitches. Such machines are used principally in the manufacture of boots and shoes for uniting the uppers, insoles, and welts of welt shoes.

My'invention relates more particularly to means for presenting the welt to the needle and also to means for cutting or severing the welt at the completion of the operation of welting a shoe. This with other features of my invention will be better understood from a description of one embodiment of the same illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a front elevation of amachine illustrating one such embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation looking from the left of Fig. 1- on a somewhat larger scale, with one of the standards omitted and with the main shaft in section. Fig. 3.is a detail in side elevation illustrating parts of the machine to be referred to; Figs. 4 and 5 are details illustrating the welt cutting or severing and end holding means employed in this ma chine; and Fig. 6 a cross sectional detail showing. the preferred form of thread cutting and thread end holding device.

In the particular embodiment of my in vention selected for illustration herein and shown in the drawings, referring first to Fig. I, the bed plate 1 adapted to be carried upon any suitable column, its standards 2 carrying the main shaft 3, the needle 16, its carmy present invention. Since these parts as above indicated or parts corresponding in general thereto are wellknown'- to and understood by those skilled in the art, it is unnecessary further to describe the same or other functions herein. In machines of this gene eral type as at present commonly used, it is customary to provide the back gage with a welt guide so positioned as to direct the Welt to the work in front of the needle, so that the latter in advancing in the formation of the stitches shall pierce the welt before piercing the upper, linings and insole, thereby to unite the welt to such upper, linings and insole by a series ofstitclies. When the shoe has been completed the operative after hav ing. retracted the needle and advanced: it slightly to cast ofl thela st loop, draws the shoe away from the stitch forming mechan ism in order to get at the welt and the thread, for cutting the same, both the welt and thread being drawn out from the machine by and with the Work.

The operative in cutting. the welt seldom cuts it close to the shoe, in fact it is inconvenient for him so to cut it, the operative almost invariably cutting it at some distance from the shoe, leaving a waste end on the shoe and beyond the end of the inseam or line of stitches, and leaving also a lon er length protruding from the welt guide. efore beginning to-sew upon a new shoe he draws the end of the Welt that was left protruding through the welt guide inward or backward somewhat, but still leaves enough protruding to enable him to seize such protruding end between the fingers of the l'eft hand and the shoe tohold the said welt in position against the shoe to receive the initial advance of the needle to sew it in position. This also involves a waste of welt because so much of the Welt end as was rc-, quired for its holding between the fingers and the shoe and which projects beyond and in front of the initial stitch ofthe new seam must be cut off and thrown away. i The result is that the present practice with thepre'sent commercial machines involves a tremendous waste of welting and one of the principal objects of my invention is to provide means for eliminating this waste and its consequent expense.

Referring to Figs. Sto 5 inclusive, theoenter head 8 of the machine is fitted withbearings for the horizontal slide rod 139, the forward end of which is provided at its under side (see Fig. 5) with a groove or recess having a cutting edge and which receives the cutting edge of the welt cutting blade 136 adjustably carried at the end of a cutting lever 137 (see Fig. 3). This cutting lever is fulcrumed at 138 on the forward end of said slide rod 139. This slide rod (see Fig. 2) is actuated longitudinally by a bell crank 140, fulcrumed at 141 on the said head and provided at the forward end of its horizontal arm with a depending treadle controlled rod 142, the treadle of which is conveniently positioned for operation by the operative after the machine has come to rest, or at any other time desired. Said bell crank and the treadle are controlled (see Fig. 2) by a spring 143 that tends to lift the treadle and with draw said slide rod 139 to its innermost position also the cutting lever 137 referred to. It is desirable during the normal progress of the work that this cutting lever and its cutting blade be thus withdrawn away from the Work so as not to impede the free manipulation of the work. When it is so withdrawn the tail end of said cutting lever, which has a roller stud 144 that works in a cam slot 145 011 said head, is caused to be moved first to drop down and away from the cooperating cutting face at the end of said slide rod 139. As the said. lever approaches the end of its inward movement it is again moved to throw the cutting blade and its adjacent end of said lever again upward so that during the normal progress of the work the cutting lever and its blade are completely withdrawn, so to speak, from any possible interference with the work.

When the shoe has been welted the operative releases the running treadle of the machine, permitting the latter to be stopped, and gives to the machine the usual slight return movement to cause the needle to cast off its loop to free the work. He then preferably pushes the work slightly inward to cause the welt to be positioned opposite but nearer to the welt cutting device. He then swings his foot upon the welt cutting treadle and by depressing the latter causes said slide rod 139 to be advanced to carry the welt cutting lever 137 also forward, said lever "during its advance movement being first dropped at its cutting end so as to approach the welt at a level below the same and, as it approaches its forward position said lever is swung upward to cause its cutting blade 136 to engage the welt from beneath and cut through the latter, severing it to permit withdrawal of the shoe without any waste end of consequence attached thereto.

Simultaneously with the severance of the welt, the body of the-lever end 137 meets the under face of the welt and in cooperation with the under face of the end of said slide rod 139 furnishes one form of pincer or holding device to hold the severed supply end of the welt in correct position to receive the initial stitch of the next shoe without further attention upon the part of the operative and without any needless waste of welt. course the supply end of the welt after severance thereof may be again released by release of the cutting treadle, if there be no back pull to draw the welt back through the welt guide, and the said treadle may be again depressed just before the machine is again started to cause the clamping end of the cutting lever again to advance and rise to lift said welt end for penetration of the needle in the formation of the initial stitch. it being released before the first feed of the work, in order that it may not interfere therewith. I prefer, however, to employ the construction shown in Fig. 2, wherein the bell crank lever 140 referred to is provided with a tail piece 140 which, when said. lever is thrown forward by depression of the treadle rod 142, is caught and there held by a latch 140 pivoted at 140 on said head 8. Thus the welt end remains held in the clamp referred to so long as said lever remains locked and the machine at rest. Upon initial rotation of the main shaft in the formation of the new stitch upon the next shoe the upper end of said latch lever 140 is engaged by a lug 140 on the main shaft or on one of the cams as 65 on said shaft, and is released to permit instant return of said bell crank lever and withdrawal of the welt clamping or holding members before the first feed begins. Thus the operatives time is greatly cconomized, the welt cutting being almost automatic in its cutting action and fully automatic in its release and at the same time a great savmg is made in the welt consumed. Since the welt is severed on the one side close to the last stitch on the shoe about to be removed and at the opposite'side close to the welt guide which leads the welt to the shoe, substantially no waste results, there being merely enough hold in front of the welt guide to per mit the entrance of the needle point at the beginning of the next seam. When the seam upon any one shoe has been completed not only must the welt be cut, for instanceas described, to permit removal of the work, but the thread must also be cut. To do this the operative now customarily uses a knife. The inexperienced operative is obliged to wait and reach for the knife, picking it up to out the thread, while the more experienced operatives usually holds the knife in the right hand during the entire operation of welting, so as to have it for convenient cutting of the thread when the stitching is completed. This is objectionable for many reasons including the danger of accidentally slashing a shoe while handling it and the liability of soiling the shoe from wax on the knife or its handle or from more or less dillilllfi cult handling of the same because of the effort to hold the knife as well as the shoe.

Further objection and perhaps one of the most important is that the operative before cutting the thread pulls out enough so that after he has cut it, a sufli cientend is left to be seized by him with the welt when beginning to stitch upon a new shoe, for the looper cannot lay its thread with certainty about the needle barb for the making of the initial stitch on the next shoe unless the thread end is held in some manner to keep it from whipping around the needle with the looper. This thread end is a great objection because it is a waxed. thread and unless very carefully handled is likely to come into contact with the upperor some other part of the'shoe and, especially if'the shoe be made of light colored eather, leaves a waxy mark or stain, which it is difficult and sometimes impossible entirely to remove.

My invention comprehends a thread cutting blade or cutter 250 Figs. 3 and 6, screwed or otherwise secured to the under side of the head 8 or in any convenient position, and so shaped and located relative to the adjacent head or' other surface as to form in connection therewith a yielding V-shaped clamp. When the operative pushes the shoe inward for cutting the welt as described, he may continue practically the same movement to carry the thread leading to the machine into its thread clam which severs'the same at one side of the 0 amp, leaving the thread end held in the clamp somewhat as the welt end is left in its clamp. This effects a saving in thread and avoids damage to the shoe .because the thread end is held out of the way, and so that certain looping is assured for the initial stitch in the next shoe. The combined thread severing and clamping device might be formed of a single member instead of by combining two members as described, or they or either may be formed in any other manner. Thus the operative is required to hold neither the welt end nor the thread end in starting the shoe, thereby increasing his speed and keeping his hands cleaner and more free from wax, consequently keeping the shoe cleaner than would otherwise be possible.

Because of the yielding andtapering or converging formof the clamp the thread end may pull out readily as the stitching and feed upon the new shoe progresses, so that the progression of the work 'is notimpeded by the clamp.

What I claim is:

1. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch -forming devices, welt-guiding means and welt-severing means com rising relatively movable members, one of w ich sustains the welt as it is out, means to move one member relative to the other, and means for holding the end of the severed welt.

2. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the

combination with stitch-forming devices,

and means for guiding-a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of a welt-guide, and welt-severing and holding means whereby the welt may be severed and the welt strip held for the next stitching operation.

3. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding. a boot or shoein proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, and a welt-severing device movable toward and from the stitch-forming devices and means for holding the end of the severed welt.

4. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch -forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of a welt-severing device comprising a plurality of cooperating severing members, and treadle-operated means for relatively moving said members,

5 In a boot and shoesewing machine, the I combination with stitch-forming devices, and

means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper re- .lation thereto for the stitching operations, of

a welt-severing device movable toward and from the said stitch-forming devices, treadleactuated means for operating said welt-severing device in one direction to position it for welt cutting, and automatic means for moving it in an opposite direction.

6. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-"forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of a welt-severing and welt-holding device movable toward and from said stitch-forming devices, means for actuating the said welt-severing device to cause it to 7 move to sever the welt and to hold the end of the severed welt, and means for retaining said welt-severing device in welt-holding position.

7. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of a welt-severing and welt-holding device movable toward and ,from said stitch-forming devices, means for actuating the said welt-severing and holding device to cause it to move to-sever the welt and to hold the end of the severed-welt,- means for retaining said welt-severing device in weltholding position, and automatic means for retiring said welt severing device from welt severing position.

8. In a'boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, a slide bar carrying a welt-severing device comprising cooperating members one of which is movable towards and from the other, means to close the said. severing device, and means for moving said bar to cause said severing device to move to position for the welt-severing operation and then to return the same.

9. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, OI welt guiding means, a slidev bar carrying a welt-severing device comprising cooperating relatively movable cutting and holding members, means to close the said severing and holding device, and means for sliding said bar to cause said severing and holding device to move to position for the welt severing and holding operation and then be retracted. to remove the said device out of the way. 1

10. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, a slide bar carrying a welt-severing device comprising cooperating cutting and holding members,

means to close the said severing and holding device, means to reciprocate said bar to cause said severing and holding device to move to position for the welt severing and holding operation and'then be retracted, and

means for locking said welt-severing and holding device in its welt holding position.

11. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the ;combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, a slide bar carrying a welt-severing device comprising cooperating cutting and holding menibers, means to close the said severing and holding device, means for sliding said bar to cause said severing and holding device to move into position for the welt severing and holding operation and then be retracted, means for retaining said welt-severing and holding device in welt holding position, and automatic means for releasing said retaining device.

12. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relationthereto for the stitching operations, of a welt-guide, a thread-cutting device, and welt severing means comprising relatively movable members, and means for advancing one of said members towards the other in the welt cutting movement and means for holding the end of the severed welt.

13; In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination ,with', stitch-torming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto tor the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, a thread cutting device, welt severing means, and welt holding means for holding the welt when severed.

14. In a bootand'shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, and weltsevering and holding means whereby the welt may be severed and the severed end held and means to subsequently operate the holding means to release the end of the welt.

15. In a boot and shoe sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming devices, and means for guiding a boot or shoe in proper relation thereto for the stitching operations, of welt guiding means, a thread cutting and thread-holding device, and weltsevering and holding means.

16. A boot and shoe sewing machine comprising stitch-torming mechanism, guiding means for the boot or shoe, and welt guiding means combined with welt severing means comprising cooperatingv members, and treadleoperated means to impart to one of said members an advancing movement towards the other to sever the welt between them, and means to retract said member subsequent to the cutting operation.

17. A boot and shoe sewing machine comprising stitch-forming mechanism, means to guide a boot or shoe, and welt guiding means combined with welt severing means comprising a plurality of cutting members, and means to advance the same towards the welt and thereafter operate the cutting members to sever the welt.

18. A boot and shoe sewing machine com prising stitch-forming mechanism, guiding means for a boot or shoe, and welt guiding means combined with welt severing means comprising cutting members, and means to advance the same towards the welt and to open the cutting members during such advance movement.

19. A sewingmachine comprising stitchforming mechanism and welt guiding means combined with welt holding means, and means automatically to open the same to release the welt by and upon operation of the machine.

20. A sewing machine comprising stitchforming mechanism, starting and stopping means, and welt guiding means combined with welt holding means, means moved by the operative to operate the same to holdthe welt, and means operated by the machine on starting of the latter for releasing said welt holding means. i

21. A boot and shoe sewing machine comprising in combination stitch-forming mechanism, movable work-guiding means and Welt severing and welt holding means normally closed and retracted from said welt severing position, and means to cause said name to this specification, in the presenoeof Welt severing means to advance, open and two subscribing Witnesses. close to sever the Welt and thereafter hold the end of the severed Welt, and means to re- THOMAS PLANT 5 turn the said device to its normally retracted Witnesses:

position. FREDERICK L. EMERY, In testimony whereof, I have signed my I FRANCIS A. MILLS. 

